I actually loved this school it was the most accepting school ever but it will shut down sadly

I Love the attention given to my son by ALL of his teachers. The extra time they spend on tutoring before or after school. My sons Math teacher Mrs Swingle has been Amazing and spent so many extra hours helping my son last year. Thanks to all of her help my son graduated 8th grade with An A in math! She is no longer my sons Math teacher but she still makes her self available for tutoring. Awesomeness! My son's Counselor Ms. Carter another amazing person! She is always available and ready with the most helpful advice and recommendations that are best for my sons needs. She helps keep my sons goals in sight to help him stay on track. I can see she Sincerely cares for all of the students well-being and their success at Encore. Another Amazing person! My husband and I are very happy with all the staff at Encore and for all they have done to help my son succeed. read more

Encore High School - Encore Pirates - Art Schools Near Me - Hesperia, California

I was warned not to send my child here, I didn't interact with the teachers because of the pandemic, but the office personnel I did, they were constantly pissing me off, I'm not going to go into detail but this wasn't a good experience at all. After reading these other reviews I shouldn't have tried it, not even during the pandemic. Lesson learned other parents beware even though my student is a straight A student I read him one review from Yelp, he started laughing and saying that it was pretty accurate. And it was one of the bad reviews. This school year may have been a better one, because this school's funding was up for review. read more

My son is a student and loves to attend and do his best. I wish I attended a school like ENCORE when I was a kid. The counseling staff is very attentive and always make time for parents and kids. All teachers are positive and have skills to teach I never seen when I was a kid. I hope more of these types of schools continue to help and grow communities with bright young talent. read more

Encore school is on the brinks of closing and hopefully so. Due to low test scores w/ a main focus on performing arts. They con parents to enrolling their kids and selling false promises that their child will be the next "Hannah Montana". Kids are constantly out of class so they can practice for their next performance, there's no true focus on academics and test scores as they see it as a secondary need. Student retention is low, but their state test scores are even lower. Employee turnover is a constant fear. This is something I've highlighted years prior and finally, some justice and validity in my review. These individuals are only concerned with losing their jobs. Grant funding is intended to keep the school up to par, however the Riverside location is run down. They're constantly being reported for safety issues, student bullying, employee harassment etc. (the list goes on). Majority of the money Is invested jn performing arts, fancy costumes, stage equipment and of course their salaries (mind you, some of these individuals don't even have a Masters Degree yet are earning $80k). This school is horrible at budgeting money and that's why they're always do budget cuts and layoffs. Parents are still encouraged to make donations to the school which they don't tell you about during their selling intro. A true lack of professionalism with majority of these adults who interact with your kids (borderline flirting, inappropriate comments) these "adults" act as if they're amongst their peers vs. adolescents. read more

I ended pulling my daughter mid year. She completed her junior and senior year in our local school and I wish I would Of done sooner. Believe me don't send your child here, they don't care about education! read more

Amazing school!!! I am currently enrolled at this school and it awesome!!! The teacher are really kind and very helpful. Always available for tutoring. Staff is always willing to help and my counselor is the best! Everyone is very knowledgeable and open to help me. I highly recommend this school as a student. read more

What I liked best about sending both of my students to Encore, what is the opportunities that they have to perform, travel, and learn and grow in the arts. I came out of there six years with a great work ethic, leadership skills, and academic scholarship opportunities totaling almost half a million dollars between the two. They have flourished in college, where many of their peers have struggled because of that diversified education and work ethic. Encore is a place where the unique and individual can both fit in and stand out. But, like any school or organization you have to put into it what you would like to get out of it. That is not only for the students, but also for the parents, teachers and staff. Even after my students are gone I love seeing the kids perform and create, and I'm looking forward to see what they produce in the future. read more

My son has been at this school for 3 years. He hasn't had an actual math teacher for 2 years. While the idea of Encore seems awesome, they focus more on arts than general education subjects. I sent my son here to become well rounded, not a broke and starving artist. It's to the point that my son is complaining that he isn't getting an education. We have decided that a transfer is necessary for his future. read more

Please don't send your kids to Encore. The free arts education isn't worth compromising on your kid's safety and education. Encore Riverside has two jobs. Educate our kids and keep them safe. They are doing neither. I was already disappointed in the academics and horrified with how the teachers and administration skew the grading to make it appear as though the students are performing better than they actually are and had planned on pulling both of my kids out as soon as they were accepted into the other charter school I had them waitlisted on but then safety concerns came up and we had to pull them immediately The school is located in downtown Riverside and the kids walk between 5 of the downtown buildings for classes. There are supposed to be proctors along the path of travel within eyesight of each other to make sure the kids get safely from building to building (as advertised) and do not get accosted by the large population of homeless or other adults.This does not happen consistently and my 12 year old was sent to walk a half mile between buildings without any proctors present and my 14 year old has been in unsupervised "classes" multiple times in the past two weeks because they have laid off so many staff members and teachers that they literally don't have enough substitutes to cover in the classrooms. My kid's dad was able to enter the school building my daughter had classes in from an unlocked door to the street, make his way to the classroom and shoot the breeze with the class without being stopped, questioned, sent away. When he headed up to the admin building to lodge a complaint, he was lied to, stonewalled, and gaslighted until he told them he had been in the classroom and had seen it for himself. My kids have had nothing but short term substitutes in multiple classes since the beginning of the year and my kids, who are good students, are frustrated with the lack of instruction and direction in the classrooms. Contrary to the huge publicity about being a "no bullying" zone, my daughter has brought home videos taken in class of a student that repetitively bullies classmates in front of the instructor and is simply told to "settle down". Filed complaints by the students have resulted in nothing. I have voice recordings of instructors telling the students to write letters to RUSD telling them how wonderful the school is and if they don't, they are essentially telling the teachers they don't care if they have a job or not. Some the the core subject instructors are clearly dedicated excellent teachers but they are in the minority. Please don't be swayed by a "free" arts education. Your kids will lose out in the end. And check out the pic I posted of the math classroom. It took 6 weeks for the whiteboard and an electrical outlet to be moved to the center of the wall where all the students in the overcrowded classroom could see it. As a result, the teacher had to have the kids to independent study the first 6 weeks of the semester. It was only after multiple phone calls and emails from parents that the board was moved. read more

Encore High School - 6 weeks into the semester, the math teacher had to continue to keep the students on independent study because this was the classroom - Art Schools Near Me - Hesperia, California

I attended this school for only a year, and it was so bad that I moved in with my father to get a better educational opportunity. The conservatory teachers have NO experience- I was in the music department, and our teacher's requirement for us to get in was to play two scales. TWO SCALES???!!! That's NOTHING!!! This school looks down on musicians like the plague. They only care about the dancers, actors, and cirque people, while the music and art people are left stranded in the dust. Unfortunately, I messed up my audition, and I ended being with a bunch of hobos who hated my guts. Talk about torture. So please, DO NOT COME HERE IF YOU ARE A MUSICIAN OR ARTIST. YOU WILL REGRET IT. The way they set up the place was ridiculous. They had two separate buildings on different streets, and we only had ten minutes to get to each class. It often took longer because we had to cross intersections and wait for lights, and almost everyone would show up late. The administration, however, didn't care, and we were punished just because the school wasn't smart enough to make one simple campus. The teachers often left or got fired by the end of the year. During my time here, I watched at least three teachers leave because the school didn't treat them fairly. This left the classes with clueless subs who had idea what the heck they were doing, and we didn't really learn that much because of their lack of experience. Student turnover was also really high, and almost half of the ENTIRE SCHOOL dropped out or left by the end of the first semester. I was constantly seeing people disappear- it was quite frightening, to say the least. I didn't really care about the academics. They were mediocre, of course, but the teachers themselves were even worse. They got by without even the right requirements for their field and acted like they knew everything about it, while in reality they were trying to avoid getting caught by authorities. Not every teacher was this way, and I admit, there are some really talented, smart educators here, but the vast majority were bigoted and liked only their favorite students. Trust me- all but one of my teachers DESPISED me, for NO reason. They were all mean!!! The biggest problem I had here was the bullying. A lot of the kids here were rude and disrespectful, and since I was different and liked weird things, I was often a target for their hate. I often tried to report it to the offices, but they shrugged it off and treated me like a fly on the windowsill. The bullying itself wasn't too bad, but it was still disheartening to see that the staff didn't even care for their students. All they cared about was money. The founders ESPECIALLY loved it, and they would exploit students for their own greedy and selfish pleasures.To prove it, they asked me if I wanted to audition for their upcoming Neon Circus show. I said yes, and as the days passed, I grew uneasy- they hadn't held the audition yet, and they promised me I'd get a spot. Just then, they sent me a text saying the whole thing was a hoax and that I couldn't audition after all. So there you go. Parents, please do your research! Send your kids to another school, preferably one with nice people who have actually had experience! DO NOT PUT THEM THROUGH WHAT I WENT THROUGH!!! read more

I visited the Hesperia campus on yesterday for my grandson's graduation. The blatant discrimination I received, along with several of my grandchildren was beyond humiliating. Specifically, Mrs. Brooks and one of her colleagues made it clear that although the school receives federal/state funds, they were in no way obligated to treat us with basic human decency. Nor did they believe they had an obligation to refrain from violating our civil rights. While I arrived early and offered to pay to enter the graduation , I was welcomed for free. Later, when my grandchildren arrived (Who entered with tickets) I motioned for the teens ,who could take much better pictures than me, to sit in seats that were vacant, Mrs. Brooks refused to allow my African American grandchildren to sit in the seats approximately 8 rows fron the stage. She yelled at me then told me in a very sarcastic manner, "I support you despite what Donald Trump plans to do with you.". Call me over sensitive, but thinking of this brings tears to my eyes. I can't even complete my post. BTW. I am a covered African American Muslim. read more

My son attended Encore High School for two years and recently graduated; however, he hasn't received his diploma and was told that the printer is not working, the staff is very unprofessional and unorganized, they told my son that the printer is not working, therefore, they can't print the diploma?? It's been almost a month since my son graduated and yet to receive his diploma, he has been told the same story over and over that the printer is not working. I am in the impression that they are giving my son the run-around in order for them not to give my son his well-earned diploma. All of their staff are very rude and unprofessional. The principal of the school is very racist and rude, whenever you want to make a complaint he tells you that he doesn't have to hear it and that if I am making a complaint that he doesn't want to hear about it because he has other things more important and that there is the door if I am not content with his response. I am going to report this school to all of their donors or district for their unprofessionalism in how they conduct business. read more

Do not send your kids here. The directors and most teachers care nothing about your children or their progress. Their only concern is if your child is a talented child and can represent the school as if somehow the school provided them with the ability to actually teach your child an art let alone academics. read more

This school which my granddaughter attended for 2 plus years was probably the worst experience of her young life. Chronic hateful bullying even death threats were ignored/dismissed by staff. Teachers were mostly inept if not just awful. My granddaughter is not a complainer but finally we had had enough and withdrew her. 4 days into Poly High School she comes home smiling from school. We now work on homework together and she is now engaged with school. In the parent intro to Encore, the school sounded wonderful: in reality, a terrible, terrible school with many teachers lacking credentials. I'd give this place a minus 10 stars! read more

WOW‼ I'm a proud uncle watchin my amazingly talented nephew Hayden perform in his high school circus & acting performance‼ PROUD OF YOU‼ read more

Encore High School - WOW‼ I'm a proud uncle watchin my amazingly talented nephew Hayden perform in his high school circus & acting performance‼ PROUD OF YOU‼ - Art Schools Near Me - Hesperia, California

Love it!!! Child has been there 2 years now. If you have an artsy kid... there's no better place to be

Not only academly it is very week school, they don't even care about ordering costumes for the teams on time. They are more then half year done and still don't have team gear and going to the first competition with the borrowed costumes which don't match their size. read more

This is the worst school ever!!! I sent my daughter here for her middle school years ! Omg when I tell you this school makes up lies about you children!! My daughter is really shy in grade 7 the accused her of skipping class. I know my kid she is so good she would NEVER DO THAT!! They are super disorganized and they never have just one teacher. For her 8th grade drama class they had 4 different teacher within a span of 2 months !!one of the math teachers doesn't even teach. My daughter was completely clueless when it came to her 8th grade math homework. The teacher would blame the students when really how is my kid supposed to learn when they are in your class for an hour and 30 minutes and they still know nothing. This school used to have two campuses but they were so poor/ broke they couldn't pay all there staff so they had to shut down the riverside location and lay off a bunch of there staff. One time my daughter came home saying that one of the teachers was selling drugs and smoking with the kids at the school. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND SENDING YOUR KID TO THIS HORRIBLE SCHOOL EVER!!! read more

I have been wanting to write a poor review on Encore for some time but have been scared due to the fact A. I just graduated and if I wrote this at the time of being a student they would have messed something on "accident" Having gone here since the seventh grade I have quite the opinion. Encore is very bad at communication they often wait until the last minute to tell people information. Most of the art teachers graduated from Encore but do not have a degree just a high school diploma. Also half of the staff does not have a credential. They have a very strong favoritism and if you are not one of those kids then you are pretty much screwed. because they do not get in as much trouble as other kids. Overall if you are looking to send someone here I do not recommend it they will mess with your kids transcripts. I wish I went to a different high school not to experience a "normal school" but to actually not get screwed over for speaking my mind. If you speak your mind or disagree they will "accidentally" mess up on your transcripts I have so many friends who have graduated from here including myself who transcripts have been messed up. They say that they set kids up for the future but all I have to say is the kids that are use to getting babied by them are going to get a rude awaking. They will do anything to keep a good reputation even if it means lying to parents and students. read more

If I had the choice, I'd pull my stepson out yesterday. This school is a joke. The offices are disorganized and the office staff is rude and slow and completely lack any sort of customer service. There is one exception: the woman in the attendance office is very nice and fast, good at what she does. But to find the attendance office when you visit the campus maybe once a year? Good luck to you. Chances are, you'll end up in the wrong office and wait half an hour before the slowest most ridiculous woman in the world finally tells you to go next door. The entire administration is shady and it isn't at all unwarranted for people to be calling them out for their business practices. I'm amazed they still have their charter, honestly. Disorganized rude office staff aside, the academics are nothing to get excited over. College prep? Yeah, okay. Bully free? If wishes were fishes... They sell their story well in orientation, but like their curriculum, it is all smoke and mirrors. Run away. read more

I'm currently a student at Encore. The staff is nice, teachers are helpful and determined for success. The student body is quite large, but not overcrowded. That's all my highlights. Honestly parents, if you wish to see your kid in the limelight...have them join Ambassadors. Ambassadors are pretty much the golden child of the school and have life pretty easy at the school. They get several personal shows, great field trips, and grab most fundraising opportunities. The rumors of favoritism are sadly true. Don't bother going to orientation, it's a bunch of bologna. Students wear pajama bottoms freely and dress code is rarely enforced. The bussing schedule was a wreck the first few weeks, and are severely over crowded. If you can put up with all this, it's a great school. Bullying is rarely a problem but drama is rampant. The school is like Glee, minus the pregnant teens. GO PIRATES! read more

Regarding the recent carnival on October 22nd "Horrible", this had to been one of the most unorganized event I've ever attended at a school! The fire department would have had a field day with citations and fines had they been there to witness the safety of students, parents, and visitors jeopardized with rooms filled over and beyond the capacity allowed, all isles blocked. Most importantly the level of academics at this school is at best a 2! The woman in the office is rude, the founders care only about their own child that attends Encore HS, they privilege this child above all other attending students. If only the initial idea to nurture a child's special talent while achieving top academic education were true words! Truth be told those words spoken seemed only to encourage parents to enroll their child in Encore! I hope that someone can turn things around at Encore and give it its true intended purpose. read more

Parents, please do your research before enrolling your kids. I wanted to be fair in my review, so I also looked up greatschools.org for more reviews. Owners are putting the business and profit over the students and teachers. Most of their admin aren't credentialed. They hire teachers without even an associate's degree and use exaggerated "industry experience" in their bios to get away with not hiring credentialed teachers. Instead, they call them "instructors" and use them to teach non-core courses, including theatre, dance, etc. They are opening a campus in Riverside and using staff at both sites, rather than hiring more admin and teachers. They also are supposedly lacking funds to buy supplies and books for Hesperia, yet they seem to be able to fund the Riverside campus and were paid to help SEP charter school in Pittsburg, CA (now closed) to improve its program (which failed). They treat employees unfairly and do not offer adequate resources or training. I wonder where all their public funding is being spent? They have a high teacher turnover rate and favor certain students. They are also known as one of the worst places to work in the high desert amongst credentialed teachers. Many of us aren't educated on how much freedom charter schools have with how they run their schools and spend their money. As a parent and credentialed teacher, I find it hard to believe they haven't had their charter revoked. So, again, do your research. read more